'SLAVES' TEND POT

Viets Smuggled in by Crimegangs

Immigration officers are probing the smuggling of Vietnamese into the
country by organized crime rings that use them as slaves to tend marijuana
operations.

At least 10 Vietnamese men and women arrested in recent police raids
against hydroponic pot labs in homes outside Toronto were found to be in
Canada illegally.

Police said the "live-in farmers" had their documents confiscated by gang
members so they couldn't flee. They are made to work in the labs to pay off
the smugglers or make good on gambling debts.

Officers said the Vietnamese are forced to live in the houses, often
sleeping on foam mattresses on the floor.

They aren't allowed to communicate with anyone or allowed to leave the
dwellings, police said.

Immigration spokesman Doug Kellam said his officers work closely with
police during drug raids.

Boat People

"We are in the background," Kellam said. "We get involved after the
criminal charges have been dealt with."

In most cases the Vietnamese are deported after their criminal cases have
been resolved.

Police said the Vietnamese, many of whom were boat people accepted by other
countries, often arrive in Canada on tourist visas from England, Norway or
Australia.

They are taken from the airport to the pot houses and aren't discovered by
authorities until the homes are raided by drug cops. By then their visas
have expired.

"They strictly live on the property to tend the crops," one drug cop said.
"Someone has to be there to monitor and fertilize the marijuana."

Police said pot operations are a new phenomenon, and they have dismantled
dozens of them in rented homes. At least three murders have been linked to
the cultivation and sale of hydroponic weed.

Officers said the pot is grown by Vietnamese crime rings and brokered to
other groups for resale on the street.